| I never saw them together, anyway
So what was Albus doing, if not comforting his wild young brother? The answer, it seems, is ensuring the continued imprisonment of his sisterFor though her first jailer had died, there was no change in the pitiful condition of Ariana DumbledoreHer very existence continued to be known only to those few outsiders who, like "Dogbreath" Doge, could be counted upon to believe in the story of her "ill health
Another such easily satisfied friend of the family was Bathilda Bagshot, the celebrated magical historian who has lived in Godric's Hollow for many yearsKendra, of course, had rebuffed Bathilda when she first attempted to welcome the family to the villageSeveral years later, however, the author sent an owl to Albus at Hogwarts, having been favorably impressed by his paper on trans-species transformation in \iTransfiguration Today\iThis initial contract led to acquaintance with the entire Dumbledore familyAt the time of Kendra's death, Bathilda was the only person in Godric's Hollow who was on speaking terms with Dumbledore's mother
Unfortunately, the brilliance that Bathilda exhibited earlier in her life has now dimmed"The fire's lit, but the cauldron's empty," as Ivor Dillonsby put it to me, or, in Enid Smeek's slightly earthier phrase, "She's nutty gucci silver bag as squirrel poo Nevertheless, a combination of tried-and-tested reporting techniques enabled me to extract enough nuggets of hard fact to string together the whole scandalous story
Like the rest of the Wizarding world, Bathilda puts Kendra's premature death down to a backfiring charm, a story repeated by Albus and Aberforth in later yearsBathilda also parrots the family line on Ariana, calling her "frail" and "delicate On one subject, however, Bathilda is well worth the effort I put into procuring Veritaserum, for she, and she alone, knows the full story of the best-kept secret of Albus Dumbledore's lifeNow revealed for the first time, it calls into question everything that his admirers believed of Dumbledore: his supposed hatred of the Dark Arts, his opposition into the oppression of Muggles, even his devotion to his own family
The very same summer that Dumbledore went home to Godric's Hollow, now an orphan and head of the family, Bathilda Bagshot agreed to accept into her home her great-nephew, Gellert Grindelwald
The name of Grindelwald is justly famous: In a list of Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time, he would miss out on the top spot only because You-
Know-Who arrived, a generation later, to steal his crownAs Grindelwald never extended his campaign of terror to Britain, black chanel tote however, the details of his rise to power are not widely known here
Educated at Durmstrang, a school famous even then for its unfortunate tolerance of the Dark Arts, Grindelwald showed himself quite as precociously brilliant as DumbledoreRather than channel his abilities into the attainment of awards and prizes, however, Gellert Grindelwald devoted himself no other pursuitsAt sixteen years old, even Durmstrang felt it could no longer turn a blind eye to the twisted experiments of Gellert Grindelwald, and he was expelled
Hitherto, all that has been known of Grindelwald's next movements is that he "traveled around for some months It can now be revealed that Grindelwald chose to visit his great-aunt in Godric's Hollow, and that there, intensely shocking though it will be for many to hear it, he struck up a close friendship with none other than Albus Dumbledore
"He seemed a charming boy to me," babbles Bathilda, "whatever he became laterNaturally I introduced him to poor Albus, who was missing the company of lads his own ageThe boys took to each other at onceBathilda shows me a letter, kept by her that Albus Dumbledore sent Gellert Grindelwald in the dead of night
"Yes, even after they'd spent all day in discussion \a150\a150 both such brilliant young boys, they got on like a cauldron on fire chanel handbags collection \a150\a150 I'd sometimes hear an owl tapping at Gellert's bedroom window, delivering a letter from Albus! An idea would have struck him and he had to let Gellert know immediately!"
And what ideas they wereProfoundly shocking though Albus Dumbledore's fans will find it, here are the thoughts of their seventeen-year-old hero, as relayed to his new best friend(A copy of the original letter may be seen on page 463
\iGellert \a150\a150
Your point about Wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLES' OWN GOOD \a150\a150 this, I think, is the crucial pointYes, we have been given power and yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the ruledWe must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we buildWhere we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counterargumentsWe seize control FOR THE GREATER GOODAnd from this it follows that where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is necessary and no more(This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met
Albus\i
Astonished and appalled though his many admirers will be, this letter constitutes the Statute of Secrecy and establishing Wizard rule over MugglesWhat a blow for those who omega geneve have always portrayed Dumbledore as the Muggle-borns' greatest champion! How hollow those speeches promoting Muggle rights
seem in the light of this damning new evidence! How despicable does Albus Dumbledore appear, busy plotting his rise to power when he should have been mourning his mother and caring for his sister!
No doubt those determined to keep Dumbledore on his crumbling pedestal will bleat that he did not, after all, put his plans into action, that he must have suffered a change of heart, that he came to his sensesHowever, the truth seems altogether more shocking
Barely two months into their great new friendship, Dumbledore and Grindelwald parted, never to see each other again until they met for their legendary duel (for more, see chapter 22)What caused this abrupt rupture? \iHad\i Dumbledore come to his senses? Had he told Grindelwald he wanted no more part in his plans? Alas, no
"It was poor little Ariana dying, I think, that did it," says Bathilda"It came as an awful shockGellert was there in the house when it happened, and he came back to my house all of a dither, told me he wanted to go home the next dayTerribly distressed, you knowSo I arranged a Portkey and that was the last I saw of him
"Albus was beside himself at Ariana's deathIt was so dreadful for those two fake chanel bag brothe |